The present invention relates generally to wire pulling apparati, and more particularly to wire caddies and wire carts that accommodate wire pulling from multiple spools of wire.
The wiring of a new residence or business, and often the remodeling of existing residences or businesses requires that an electrician physically pull an appropriate number of wires through an electrical conduit so that the appropriate electrical connections may be made from the junction box to the end termination. These terminations may include switchboxes, outlets, or connectors to the physical device to which the wire is to be connected. In most modern structures, the number of wires that must be run has increased dramatically as the number of electrical, phone, computer, intercom, stereo, etc., lines have increased. Indeed, in many modern buildings, the total length of wire that is run can exceed several hundreds or thousands of miles.
To aid electricians in the proper connections of these various wires, wire manufacturers provide different colored insulation on the wires. In this way, a skillful electrician will maintain a color key indicating which colored insulation wire is connected to what. However, while different colored insulation significantly simplifies the task of identifying which wire is connected to which terminal/device, the sheer number of wires that needs to be run mandates that the electrician utilize numerous spools of wire. Recognizing that pulling wire from a large number of spools will quickly lead to a tangled mess of wires, manufacturers provide wire carts or caddies that hold the multiple spools of colored wire. Through the use of a wire cart or caddy, the electrician may pull multiple colored wires from a single location at once without fear of creating a large tangle.
A typical wire cart or caddy includes a fixed number of rods on which different colored spools of wire may be placed. The spools of wire are free to rotate on the rods so that wire may be pulled therefrom by the electrician. Recognizing that multiple spools of wire are quite heavy, many wire carts are constructed on some type of rolling base, often including two fixed and two swivel-locking casters. However, some smaller versions that hold only a few spools of wire are not provided with wheels.
While the provision of a wire cart is a significant benefit to electricians who are required to pull multiple wires, a number of problems have become evident with existing wire carts. Manufacturers of the wire cart recognize that different jobs may require differing numbers of wires to be pulled, and have therefore designed standalone wire carts having different numbers of rods onto which spools may be placed. Four, six, and ten rod cart capable of holding four, six, or ten different spools of wire are readily available. However, each of these wire carts are standalone units. As such, electricians are often forced to decide between having to use multiple wire carts at one work site requiring a large number of wires to be pulled when they own a four or six spool wire cart, or purchasing a larger ten spool capacity wire cart and facing unused capacity at work sites that do not require a large number of wires to be pulled. In the first case multiple trips to move the numerous stand alone wire carts between installation locations is required, while in the second case the larger and heavier wire cart must be moved between installation locations, requiring extra effort on the electricians part when such capacity is not even required. In either event the excess energy required by the electrician is unjustified.
Another problem which has become evident through the use of conventional wire carts available currently is that they are of fixed construction in the placement and orientation of the spools of wire. That is, the height above the floor of each of the rods onto which the spools of wire are placed are fixed. Unfortunately, the opening through which these wires must be pulled is often not fixed relative to the floor. As a result, the insulation on many of the wires is often scraped during the wiring pulling process. Wires are particularly susceptible to such damage when they are to be pulled through a conduit opening near the floor through a vertically upward conduit when the spools of wire on the wire cart are higher than the conduit opening. This results from the fact that the wire coming off of the spools must first be pulled in a downward direction to the conduit opening and then to an immediate upward direction through the conduit. All of the wires then tend to scrape along the upper edge of the conduit opening as the force pulling the wires upward through the conduit must first pull the wire downward from the spools. This results in a V shaped path that the wires must traverse. Similarly, if the conduit opening through which the wires must be pulled is above the fixed height of the spools on the wire cart and the wires must be pulled in a vertical downward direction through the conduit itself, this same type of damage to the wires may result.
Because the loss of insulation on an electrical wire poses a serious fire risk, such installations typically require at least two electricians, one of whom is simply responsible for feeding the wire through the conduit opening in a manner that prevents such damage. Alternatively, the electrician is forced to continually move the wire cart between different floors so that the flow of wire off of the wire cart will be in the direction that the wire will be pulled through the conduit. However, this is very inefficient as a single conduit opening may require that wires be pulled in both directions therethrough. Instead of being able to leave the wire cart at that location for each of the pulling operations, electricians will be forced to move the wire cart to a different floor and then pull the wire in the opposite direction to prevent the damage to the wire insulation. Unfortunately, each of these work-arounds to this problem results in increased labor costs in performing a wiring operation.
There is a need in the art, therefore, for a wiring cart which is modular in design and which may be reoriented to allow wire pulling operations in either upward or downward directions based on the location of the conduit opening through which the wire is to be pulled.
In view of the foregoing, it is an objective of the present invention to provide a new and improved wire cart that overcomes a number of the problems existing with current wire carts known in the art. More specifically, it is an objective of the present invention to provide a new and improved wire cart whose orientation relative to a conduit opening may be adjusted to minimize the potential damage to the wire insulation when pulled through the conduit opening. To keep the wires from the spools from tangling, a preferred embodiment maintains the spools in-line within the wire cart. Further, an embodiment of the wire cart of the present invention allows for modular expansion of the number of spools from which wire may be concurrently pulled. As such, more or fewer spools may be included in an assemblage as required by a particular job.
In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, the vertical orientation of an end of the wire cart from which the single or multiple strands of wire are pulled may be adjusted relative to the conduit opening through which the wires are to be pulled. In an installation having a conduit opening relatively close to the floor and a vertically upward conduit channel through which the wires are to be pulled, the wire cart of the present invention may be orientated such that the wire collator outlet through which all of the wires from the various spools are dispensed may be positioned at or below the conduit opening. With such a conduit outlet having a vertically downward conduit channel through which the wires must be pulled, the wire cart of the present invention may be reoriented such that the wire collator outlet is positioned at or above the conduit opening. The wire cart of the present invention may further be reoriented to position the wire collator outlet in proximity to a wall mounted junction box or breaker box to facilitate wire pulling therethrough or for overhead installations.
In one embodiment to the present invention the wire cart may be held in a particular location relative to the conduit opening. Such position may be maintained through the provision of adjustable wall spacers which may be extended or retracted to maintain the wire cart at a predetermined relative location. Such wall spacers may be perpendicularly reoriented based on the orientation and application of the wire pulling installation through a conduit outlet, junction box, overhead installation, etc.
To enable portability of the wire cart of the present invention, one embodiment includes wheels at at least one end of the wire cart frame. Alternatively, wheels may be provided on the height adjustable legs that enable reorientation of the wire collating outlet. Alternatively, the wall spacers may include wheels on which the wire cart of the present invention may be rolled.
In a further embodiment of the present invention, the frame of the wire cart may include pegs on which extra spools of wire may be stored. In a further embodiment, these pegs may be utilized to mate with holes on an underside of the wire cart of the present invention such to provide a modular assembly whereby the number of spools from which wire may be pulled may be increased in a modular fashion through a single wire collator outlet. In a further embodiment, this modularity is provided in a linear fashion, which is particularly useful in installations having restricted areas into which the wire cart may be placed, but which also requires a large number of wires to be pulled.
Therefore, in one embodiment to the present invention a wire cart for use in wire pulling operations whereby an electrician pulls wire through a conduit outlet mounted on a wall and attached conduit to wire a structure is presented. The wire is initially stored on spools. The cart comprises a frame having two ends, a number of spool support rods removably supported at either end of the rod by the frame. The rods have a diameter that is adapted to accommodate placement and rotation of a spool of wire. The cart further includes height adjustable support members attached to the frame at one end. The height adjustable support members are extendable to raise the end of the frame above the conduit outlet to accommodate a wire pulling operation through the conduit outlet to a vertically downward descending conduit. They are also retractable to lower the end of the frame below the conduit outlet to accommodate a wire pulling operation through the conduit outlet to a vertically upward ascending conduit. The height adjustable support members are also extendable to raise the end of the frame into horizontal proximity with the conduit outlet to accommodate a wire pulling operation through the conduit outlet to a horizontal conduit. Preferably, the height adjustable support members include casters on their end. In an alternate embodiment, the height adjustable support members include non-slip feet on an end, and the cart includes a pair of wheels mounted on the frame.
Preferably, the wire cart includes a wire collator outlet coupled to said frame in proximity to one end. In such an embodiment, the height adjustable support members are extendable and retractable to raise and lower the wire collator outlet relative to the conduit outlet. Preferably, the wire collator outlet comprises a hoop. The hoop may be rotatably coupled to the frame. Alternatively, the wire collator outlet comprises a pair of rollers and a hoop. In a further embodiment the second end of the frame is adapted to support the wire cart thereon in a vertical orientation. In this embodiment the height adjustable legs are extendable to provide horizontal support and to maintain a horizontal distance from the conduit outlet during the wire pulling operation.
In another embodiment of the present invention, the wire cart""s the height adjustable members are adapted to be reoriented from a height adjustable position to a horizontally adjustable position. In this configuration the members are extended and retracted from the frame to position the end horizontally further from and horizontally closer to the conduit outlet. Alternatively, the wire cart can include horizontal positioning members adjustably mounted to the frame. These horizontal position members are extended and retracted from the frame to position the first end horizontally further from and horizontally closer to the conduit outlet. In a further embodiment the wire cart includes a plurality of pegs mounted on the frame and adapted to accommodate placement of extra spools of wire thereon. Alternatively, the wire cart includes a plurality of pegs mounted on the frame on its upper surface. The frame also includes a plurality of receptacles in its lower surface, which are configured to accommodate the pegs therein to facilitate stacking of wire carts. Such modularity is also accommodated in an alternate embodiment in which the frame defines a male member at one end and a female receptacle configured to accommodate the male member at the other end. This facilitates end-to-end assembly of the wire carts.
In an alternate embodiment of the present invention, a wire pulling apparatus comprises a frame, a plurality of spool support rods mounted within a length of the frame, a pair of support members adjustably mounted transverse to the length of the frame at a first end, and a wire collator outlet mounted in proximity to the first end. In this embodiment the support members are adjustable to raise and lower a height of the wire collator outlet relative to a horizontal plane on which the wire pulling apparatus is placed. In a further embodiment the wire pulling apparatus further comprises a plurality of pegs mounted on the frame, that are adapted to accommodate storage of spools of wire thereon. The frame may also define a plurality of receptacles therein adapted to receive the pegs to enable stacking of one wire pulling apparatus on another wire pulling apparatus. Preferably, the frame defines a second end adapted to support the wire pulling apparatus in a vertical orientation relative to its length.
The present invention also provides a method of facilitating a wire pulling operation through a conduit outlet mounted on a wall and attached conduit to wire a structure. The wire is initially stored on spools. The method comprises the steps of providing a wire pulling apparatus comprising a frame, a plurality of spool support rods mounted within a length of the frame to hold the spools of wire from which wire will be pulled, a pair of support members adjustably mounted transverse to the length of the frame at a first end thereof, and a wire collator outlet mounted in proximity to the first end. The method also requires positioning the wire pulling apparatus in proximity to the conduit outlet, and extending the support members to raise the wire collator outlet above the conduit outlet when the conduit outlet is coupled to a vertically downward descending conduit, and retracting the support members to lower the wire collator outlet below the conduit outlet when the conduit outlet is coupled to a vertically upward ascending conduit. A further method requires the step of extending the support members to position the wire collator outlet into horizontal proximity with the conduit outlet when the conduit outlet is coupled to a horizontal conduit.